The microtubule-dynamin binding inhibitor peptide PHDP5 rescues spatial learning and memory deficits in Alzheimer's disease model mice

Dynamin is a microtubule (MT) binding protein playing a key role in vesicle endocytosis. In a brain slice model, tau loaded in presynaptic terminals assembles MTs, thereby impairing vesicle endocytosis via depletion of cytosolic dynamin. The peptide PHDP5, derived from the pleckstrin homology domain of dynamin 1, inhibits dynamin-MT interaction and rescues endocytosis and synaptic transmission impaired by tau when co-loaded in presynaptic terminals. We tested whether in vivo administration of PHDP5 could rescue the learning/memory deficits observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) model mice. A modified PHDP5 incorporating a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) and a FITC fluorescent marker was delivered intranasally to Tau609 transgenic (Tg) and 3xTg-AD mice. FITC-positive puncta were observed in the hippocampus of mice infused with PHDP5 or scrambled (SPHDP5) peptide, but not in saline-infused controls. In the Morris water maze (MWM) test for spatial learning/memory, AD model mice treated with FITC-PHDP5-CPP showed prominent improvements in learning and memory, performing close to the level of saline-infused WT mice control. In contrast, mice treated with a scrambled construct (FITC-SPHDP5-CPP) showed no significant improvement. We conclude that PHDP5 can be a candidate for human AD therapy.